Looking for a unique gift? Museums and theaters aren’t just for checking out art or catching a show. They’re a place to shop, too.

Several museums and theaters are proving there’s more to their stores than just souvenirs. Here are our picks for great places to buy chic wares and other gift-worthy items. Admission to the shops is free.

American Swedish Institute (2600 Park Ave., Minneapolis; 612-870-3378; ASImn.org): Talk about a major makeover. A stop at the newly revamped museum store reveals a hip, contemporary shop with an eye for Scandinavian design in jewelry, home decor and more.

Standouts include coveted Triwa watches. The Dansk Smykkekunst jewelry line of Denmark features gorgeous, chunky statement necklaces that are unexpectedly light as a feather. Now, that’s design.

Home pieces include modern handcrafted textiles, metalwork and glassware. We’re especially crushing on the Nordic Light adjustable candelabras. Fans of Cose Nuove Swedish dishcloths will find a large selection here. And the shop pays tribute to Nordic culture with hip bike-friendly gear in the form of reflectors, lights and baskets. The museum shop is also the place to go for a large selection of books with Swedish titles in Swedish and English. Closed Mondays.

KidSpark at Minnesota Children’s Museum (10 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; 651-225-6060; mcm.org): Not only was the museum voted Nickelodeon’s Parents Connect’s best children’s museum three years in row but the museum shop also is a winner.

The downtown St. Paul store offers children’s gifts hard to come by in the Twin Cities metro area. Hand puppets and sock monkeys are meant to stir creative juices. Plush animals go beyond penguins and bears and include dragons, dinosaurs and snakes. Fans of “Dora the Explorer” and “Sesame Street” will find a sizable selection of these themed gifts in the form of coloring books, toys and more.

The spot has been a favorite for gift shopping, thanks to the artist mart, which offers jewelry, accessories, decor pieces and more by local designers. Also worth noting is the museum’s large Pantone collection — mugs, cups and bowls come in a variety of modern colors. And there’s an impressive selection of unusual kids’ toys, puzzles and kitchen accessories. Closed Mondays.

Nancy Ngo is a Minnesota Native who grew up reading the Pioneer Press, so it’s fitting that she would one day work for them. She is a three time Society of Professional Journalists Page One Award winner. Before covering food and lifestyle, she has previously covered government and public safety. She has served on boards including the Asian American Journalists Association and The University of Minnesota’s The School of Journalism and Mass Communication Alumni Society Board.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Things to Do

Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie will share the stage for an Oct. 30 concert at the University of Minnesota’s Northrop Auditorium. Tickets are priced from $199 to $59.50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through the Northrop box office. The pair began writing together after McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014. They had initially planned to...

It turns out country superstar Shania Twain’s farewell tour wasn’t her farewell tour after all. She’s returning to the road next year with a May 15 stop planned at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. Tickets are priced from $149.95 to $29.95 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 25 through Ticketmaster. American Express cardholders have access to presale tickets...

You still have time to prepare for the best celestial happening in the United States so far this century — Monday’s total solar eclipse. Pray for clear skies that day for the first total eclipse seen the United States since 1979. Here in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin it won’t be a total eclipse, but will be a deep partial...

Seventy sold-out performances highlighted the Minnesota Fringe Festival, which closed the curtain on its 11-day run Sunday. This year’s fest featured 167 shows, which were performed 870 times to an audience of 46,000, for an average of 53 theatergoers per performance. In past years, some Fringe hits have gone onto commercial runs at area theaters, so you might want to...

Sweet news — some of it literal — coming from downtown Stillwater’s food scene: The Velveteen speakeasy is now open (123 Second St. N.; 651-342-2571; thevelveteenspeakeasy.com) in the lower level of JX Venue. The restaurant and cocktail lounge is serving wine, beer and creative cocktails with bitters and infusions made in house. For food, expect small plates with Latin, French...

Cork O’Connor leaves his beloved northern Minnesota to search for his stepson in southern Arizona’s Coronado County in the latest in William Kent Krueger’s popular series about the former sheriff of Tamarack County, Minn., where he lives. In the previous O’Connor adventure, “Manitou Canyon,” Cork was having a crisis of the soul that he worked through in the Boundary Waters....